Author
Topic: Fermentation Temp Control (Read 2836 times)

I'm a 3 season brewer. I heat my fermenter to lager temps in the winter, and my basement takes care of ales in spring/winter/fall. Typically, I am killing my last keg in October, just as my first beer of the season is coming online. Sometimes I have to make potato vodka to get me thru September, but usually, I am good to go.

I can't vouch for the stick on, but I monitor my temp on the side of the carboy or bucket (insulated probe against the side). When checked against actual fermentation temp, like others indicated, its not more than 1F. Pretty accurate, in my experience.

The progression was MrBeer, PM, AG, throw a kegerator in there somewhere, and temp control kinda came last.That said, I am in my unfinished fermenting chamber (basement) which is 58 now and tops out uppper 60's in the dead of summer. I've seen the son of fermentation chiller threads and the guys with the lightbulb wrapped in tinfoil; but figured those guys are on the extreme ends of fermentation temps; like Alaska and Africa.

Wish I had a basement. The water table around here is so high that basements are a rare thing.

I kept track of both for several batches and never saw a variation of more than about 1°F.

+1 - my friend spent some coin on a thermowell on the same notion of 1vertical's, so durign one fermentation, out of curiosity, I used my thermocouple and took readings to compare to the strip - it was always +/- 1 degree, so I stopped worrying about getting a thermowell. YMMV.

Logged

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

Upstairs bedroom, where the sours go to sour. Low to mid 60's during Winter and the mid 70's during Summer ( we run AC in the bedrooms)

Downstairs bathroom is where the Ales live during Winter. Stays around 60 in there by keeping an eye on the door and using it as a throttle of sorts.

BasementWhen the temp is right its perfect for fermenting lagers in Winter AND Ales during the Spring and Fall (Summer it hits the 70's)Swamp cooler in Summer for ales AND lagersSwamp warmer (aquarium heater) for lagers in Winter AND ramping up Belgians when needed.

Outside quonset hutChest keezer outside for lagering and ales during Summer when we are camping (cant be there to swap ice bottles in swamp coolers)

Basement stays at 48 to 52 degrees for four months of winter, around 62 for most of spring and fall, and tops out at 65 or so for a month or two in the middle of summer.

Can you say lagers; alts and wheat beers; and ales?

Plus it makes a great year around beer and wine storage facility with not too much temp fluctuation, considering how long I want the goods to survive in the first place.

Thanks guys for the info about the temp accuracy when measured on the outside of a fermenter. I've been wondering how well that outside temp reflects the interior of the fermenter, and have built a thermwell myself but not experimented yet.